Google Play Games
Level Up
Build for players. Elevate your game, Grow with Play.
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Essentials
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Learning
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Programs
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Play Console
Test
Release
Grow
Quality
Monetize
Manage
Build a world-class
experience for users
At Google Play, we’re committed to building the best gaming experience by seamlessly connecting players with the games, content, and communities they love. By building experiences centered around each player - from helping them discover new favorites to celebrating their latest milestones - we keep players delighted and continue growing vibrant communities.
Level Up helps you turn these player journeys into business growth. By delivering a high-quality experience from discovery to gameplay, you can boost your game across in-store surfaces, utilize powerful engagement mechanics, and unlock lower service fees.
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680M+ MAUs with profiles powered by Play Games Services (PGS) |
350M+ Play Points members in 36 countries |
250M+ MAUs engaging content on You tab |
Boost player engagement
You tab: Re-engage players with your promotional content through our personalized hub
Sidekick: Keep players immersed in your game with an in-game overlay
Quests: Recognize your player’s progress with rewards
Leagues: Drive social competitions with leaderboards using gameplay stats.
Case studies
Program rate card
To reward your investment in delivering the best experience for users, games that implement all new Level Up guidelines will qualify for a lower service fee.
Availability for the program rate card will roll out by region, based on user spend.
September 30, 2026: Available in AU, EEA, UK, US
December 31, 2026: Available in JP, KR
September 30, 2027: Available in the Rest of World
New Level Up Guidelines
Maximize reach and unlock growth by following the Level Up guidelines to deliver a high-quality gaming experience. You can check exemption cases for guidelines in the documentation or contact Play Console Help for questions.
Provide a consistent gamer experience
Players expect a seamless experience where their progress is recognized and they have access to all that Play offers—from social connections to engaging challenges. By implementing our latest mechanics and content tools, you deliver a delightful and consistent gaming experience that drives deeper engagement.
Guidelines
Platform authentication: Integrate the Play Games Services v2 SDK to power achievements, Game Stats, and cross-device sync. Having an in-game identity system is not required and you can use any identity provider of your choice.
Play Games Sidekick: Keep players immersed by enabling Sidekick by default to provide seamless in-game access to utilities, achievements, Quests, Leagues, and community posts. Gemini Live is not required.
Achievements: Drive player recognition with achievements to recognize and reward accomplishments across the game, engaging players on surfaces like You tab and Sidekick.
Game Stats: Spark social interactions and engaging challenges by providing data to power the Game Stats feature and for use in future and current mechanics like Leagues and Quests.
Rewards: Drive increased engagement by providing In-game items to reward players.
Cloud save: Increase player retention by enabling a Google or third party cloud save solution so players never lose progress across devices.
Expand your reach across all screens
Meet players where they are, and ensure their favorite games are available across platforms and form factors, whether they’re playing on a foldable during a commute or settling in for an immersive session on their PC. By optimizing for multiple devices, you can expand your reach across the rapidly growing ecosystem of gaming hardware.
Guidelines
Large screen optimization: Deliver a high-quality experience across laptops, tablets, and foldables by ensuring seamless resizing, rotation, and visual continuity without performance issues.
Google Play Games on PC availability: Expand your audience by making your mobile build playable on PC by opting in Play Console, or integrate the Play PC SDK to launch a fully native PC experience.
Precision input controls: Enable flexible gameplay by ensuring your game is fully functional via controller, keyboard, and mouse, allowing players to complete the end-to-end journey.
Form factor distribution: Future-proof your game by ensuring compatibility with emerging Android form factors.
Title availability: Maximize your game’s reach by ensuring it is released on the same Android supported form factors as any other comparable non-Android form factors.
Deliver stable and smoother gameplay sessions
For players, nothing is more important than high performance when the game is on the line. By ensuring your game remains stable and smooth sessions, you can reduce churn and keep your players engaged exactly where they want to be: in the game.
Guidelines
Stability: Increase player session times by having your game avoid crashes and ANRs measured against the reference devices across major Android OEMs.
Performance: Ensure smooth immersion by maintaining 60 FPS on reference devices and optimizing memory usage to comply with Android 17 memory limits.
Vulkan : Maximize graphics performance by using Vulkan to leverage modern GPUs and deliver cutting-edge visuals for players.
Frequently asked questions
For questions or support needed on Level Up, please contact Play Console Help.
Program Rate Card
You can learn more about the program rate card through the Help Center.
Yes, you can join the program any time after. September 30, 2026 is the earliest date the rate card becomes available against spend in these regions (US, UK, EEA, AUS). If developers integrate all required guidelines any time after that date, their integrated title will become eligible for the rate card starting from integration completion and validation.
Enrollment
No, Google Play Games Level Up is not mandatory for games on Google Play. The program is a suite of products and features designed to support your business growth and elevate the player experience both in your game and on the Play Store. You can join the program if it's a right fit for your game, and if you wish to access the program rate card.
No. Access to the new program's commercial benefit (program rate card) is not automatic for existing Level Up participants. To unlock these new rates, games must meet all new Level Up guidelines announced as of June 24, 2026.
Starting this September, you can submit your title through Play Console to verify your compliance with all new Level Up guidelines at once and unlock the program rate card.
Guidelines
Verification processes differ for each guideline. You can learn about meeting each requirement from the documentation page.
Yes, please refer to the documentation for each guideline to see where exemptions apply. If you have further questions, please contact Play Console Help.
Yes, player expectations and developer businesses continuously evolve, and the program is designed to adapt alongside them. The program guidelines may be updated over time.
We will only test crash rates, ANR rates, and frame rates against a specified set of reference devices.
Yes, you can use any cloud save solution of your choice.
No. Gemini Live is an optional feature and is not required to use Play Games Sidekick. It is currently in an optional Early Access Program (EAP); enabling Sidekick in Play Console does not automatically activate Gemini Live. No scaled launch is planned for 2026; any future rollout of Gemini Live will include at least three months' notice and an escalation process to report quality issues.